During the year 2020, as part of the AINOMA-2SCALE partnership, women benefited from training on groundnut processing techniques in order to diversify their sources of income. Among them, our two heroines, Mrs. Biba Harouna and Mrs. Fagi Kassomou. The common point that links these two women is their attachment to the AINOMA-2SCALE partnership.
Just two years ago when the partnership began, AINOMA committed to purchasing the seed peanuts produced by women's cooperatives to supply its main client, STA (Société de Transformation Alimentaire). But following the post-election crisis in Niger, STA suffered a huge loss when its processing plant was ransacked by demonstrators. As a result, the factory, no longer able to produce, gave up its multiple orders to AÏNOMA, which in turn, disengaged from the purchase of the women's products.
Thanks to the training on processing techniques, our two heroines invest their efforts in processing. With them, other women from their cooperatives joined in. From then on, the activity became their daily livelihood.
Biba, an altruistic peanut processor
Mrs. Biba HAROUNA, 48 years old, is also the president of the cooperative "Dondon gawani ba te ayse" which means "it is better to learn how to do something than to wait for someone to do it for you". Thanks to the support of the partnership, she has specialized in processing. Today, she has a permanent activity through which she promotes the creation of temporary jobs for the 17 other women from her cooperative, the majority of whom are under 35 years old.
Starting with an income of barely 15,000 francs CFA per week, Biba and her group now have a turnover of about 100,000 francs CFA per week. Oil, cake, and peanut paste are the main by-products processed and sold in the local market, in Niamey the capital city and also exported to Lomé, the capital of Togo, where she has clients. By introducing other women to processing, Biba feels useful to help them improve their income and contribute to their respective household expenses. She said:
Like Biba, Mrs. Fagi KASSOMOU has also become an icon in her region, 115 km southwest of Niamey. For many years, she produced groundnuts on the land of the seed farm of AINOMA. Considered as a model woman in groundnut processing, Mrs. Fagi's ambition is to see women become autonomous. She explained:
From the beginning of the partnership to date, more than 2,500 women have benefited from capacity building in groundnut production, post-production and storage techniques, as well as training in the use of modern processing equipment. A total of 10,350 women are targeted to get included in the partnership's activities by the end of 2023.
